Turkish PM: Iraq deployment government’s priority

The parliament would make a final decision on whether to authorise the government to dispatch troops to Iraq shortly, Erdoğan said in an interview on television station NTV.
The Prime Minister also said Turkey had a long history of contributing troops to peace keeping missions and that deploying forces in Iraq would help restore stability in the region.
“I have expressed my positive opinion that our soldiers can contribute to peace and positive atmosphere there,” he said. “We sent soldiers to Korea in the past. Similarly, we sent soldiers to Kosovo, Somalia and Afghanistan. We have soldiers in more than 20 countries in the world.”
However, he made clear that the Turkish Armed Forces would not be used as a tool of other powers or be put at any disadvantage. Furthermore, any deployment would be decided on after the most rigorous study of the situation.
“We undertake the necessary consultations and negotiations with the General Staff,” Erdoğan said. “We hold consultations with the Presidential Palace when necessary. This issue was sometimes discussed by the National Security Council. Then, the government will take the necessary steps. We are evaluating the issue not only with the Foreign Ministry, but also the General Staff. And, we are taking steps accordingly. There are issues which should be kept as secret. Everything can’t be explained in detail.”
Asked whether he believed that the US would act to eliminate the presence of the terrorist group the PKK/KADEK in Northern Iraq as it committed itself to doing earlier on Thursday, the Prime Minister said he felt the US understood the concerns of Turkey regarding the terrorist threat.
“After the September 11 terrorist attacks, the United States pioneered the fight against terrorism,” he said. “The United States should impose necessary the sanctions against terrorism by a fair attitude irrespective of the nation, race, country and source of terrorism. As Turkey, we said that an international anti-terrorism platform should be formed and we wanted to take part in that platform. In the end, we have taken our place in it. The United States is also in it. We have to continue this joint fight against terrorism. We have lost almost 40,000 of our people due to terrorism. We have paid a very serious cost. The United States should understand us well. I believe that the United States will approach our demands positively.”